Former Australia Test captain Tim Paine has retired from first-class cricket. His last first-class match for Tasmania ended in a draw at Hobart on March 17.
The 38-year-old received a 'guard of honour' from Tasmania teammates and opposition as he left the Bellerive Oval after two captains settled for a draw. The decision was taken after 62 overs were bowled on the final day and a result looked unlikely. He did not even go for a press conference after the match.
The 38-year-old made his first-class debut at the same venue on December 12, 2005. He opened the innings and got out for a golden duck in his first innings. In his last first-class appearance, Paine scored 42 runs from 62 deliveries including six fours. In the second innings, he remained unbeaten for three runs.
"He's been a phenomenal player," Tasmania skipper Jordan Silk said. "I think it's around 22 years of professional cricket. It's an incredible effort to have the longevity that he's had. He's certainly going to be missed behind the stumps. I certainly won't play, I'm sure a lot of guys who are playing now will say that there will never be another keeper as good as Tim Paine in Australia. So we've been incredibly blessed down here. And we wish him all the best in whatever he chooses going forward."
Paine has 6,490 runs from 154 first-class games at an average of 29.63 including three centuries and 35 half-centuries.
"Considering his age the level of the standard of keeping and he's still been able to generate has been really incredible," Silk said. “He's always someone that you know is doing the work behind the scenes. I think he sets a great example for work ethic and all that sort of stuff for all of our guys.”
Paine was made Test captain in 2018 following the ball-tampering scandal involving Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft. He led Australia in 23 Tests, won 11, lost eight whereas four ended in a draw.
Paine had to step down from Test captaincy after a scandal. The wicketkeeper-batter had sent explicit text message to a Cricket Tasmania employee in 2017. Later, he was cleared by Cricket Tasmania and Cricket Australia but he never played another game for Australia and Pat Cummins took over captaincy.
ALSO READ:
EXCLUSIVE: Sachin Tendulkar wants ICC to reconsider saliva ban, says 'If you think that is unhygienic, I have seen guys...'
EXCLUSIVE | Sachin Tendulkar reveals unusual sledging moment during nets session with Harbhajan Singh: Watch video
